All the breath leaves my lungs as the reality of the situation sets in.They’re going to kill us.
The candles seem to flicker in response to the intensity of his words.
“Why are you doing this?” My voice breaks on the question.
Samuel chuckles. “I’ve been alive for centuries, and killing humans has become so… dull. They’re so gullible, sobreakable. To you, it would be like picking up a newborn kitten and snapping its neck. And where’s the fun in something so simple?”
My stomach rolls at the image he paints in my mind.
He continues, “I got bored, needed a challenge. And what better way to challenge myself and gain hundreds of years at once than by taking the lives of those like me? It levels out the playing field, so to speak.”
“Must not have been too easy if you needed my help,” I snarl.
Harsh, white light flashes across his pupils. “Careful, girl. If I were you, I’d run while you still have a fighting chance of getting away.”
No. I’m done with running. I’m going to fight to my dying breath if that’s what it takes.
“You’re not killing him,” I say. My voice is strong despite the fear that’s so potent it’s paralyzing.
Samuel snarls, an ugly sound from such a beautiful mouth. “Still has you trained, I see.”
Ambrose, from where he stands on the pulpit, has managed to regain a semblance of his indifferent, wry persona. “Watch it, Sammy. She rather likes being my pet.”
The nickname makes me smile despite the dire situation we’ve found ourselves in.
And just like that, the room plunges into silence again. The only sound is the rain hammering against the stained glass windows, washing the dusty church in watery, dripping colors.
“Let’s get this over with so I never have to visit this godforsaken backwoods place again,” Samuel says. He steps forward toward Ambrose, raising his hand palm-up as white sparks begin to gather above his hand.
He’s going to kill him.
“No!” I yell, running toward his back without considering the death trap I’m walking into. I have to do something,anything. All my disdain for Ambrose is temporarily forgotten under the threat of losing him forever. We can argue later, but right now, I need to make sure he lives.
But when I reach Samuel, he simply turns and backhands me with a force that knocks me to the ground. So much power in such a simple flick of the wrist.
Fire sears through me, and my vision goes black momentarily, my head seeming weighted with stones that drag me downward as I collapse to the ground behind him.
I think I hear my name shouted in the distance, but everything is dark and nebulous.
My vision is blurred when I manage to crack open my eyes despite the pressure pounding against my skull, but I can see Samuel gathering that electricity again, allowing it to build and build until it contains enough force to take out a being as powerful as Ambrose, whose abilities are diminished without his necklace.
The necklace. I need to give him the necklace. But he’s so far away, and my limbs feel like they’re weighed down withlead. He seems to shift with the shadows, in and out of focus as he attempts to disorient Samuel.
It’s then that I realize the pistol is still in my coat pocket, the hard metal digging into my abdomen through the lining
As quickly and quietly as possible, I unzip my coat just enough to reach into the inner pocket. Elias’s gaze flits toward me, but he turns away, either pretending not to notice or not caring what I do since they’re essentially immortal.
Wait, shit. Will a gunshot even kill them? Probably not. I need their artifacts.
Think, think, think.
Through my blurred vision, I examine Samuel with increasing urgency. Then, it hits me. His pocket watch. He’s had it every time I’ve seen him and is constantly fidgeting with it. Thathasto be it.
Fighting the weakness still threatening to overtake me, I crawl over to Samuel, push myself up just enough to reach his waist level, reach out, and yank the thin gold chain that’s attached to his pants.
It interrupts his focus long enough for the light in his hand to fizzle out once more, and as soon as he turns to face me, I throw the onyx necklace as hard as I can in Ambrose’s direction, hoping it will provide him the strength and protection he needs. If only one of us has to live, I want it to be him.
Even though I’ve begun to daydream about living out my days in the comfort of his cabin, even though I’m filled with a yearning for life that I’ve never had, even though our story has just begun and might already be coming to a tragic end.
